Logistics, Financing, and Public Policies Are the Main Barriers for Agrifood Companies in Latin America and the Caribbean

The performance of the agrifood sector is central to economic development, food security, and environmental sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). As companies in the sector operate in an increasingly demanding environment—marked by high logistics costs, financing constraints, rising market access standards, and growing climate risks—understanding how these dynamics are perceived by the productive sector itself is key to designing more effective public policies and support tools.

With this objective, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) conducted a regional survey between October and December 2025, completed by 319 agrifood companies. The survey was distributed through channels linked to IDB initiatives, reaching companies using the ConnectAmericas platform, firms and business associations connected to the Agrimonitor platform, and companies that received the survey through social media.

Profile of Agrifood Companies Surveyed

The audience targeted in the survey is from a group of firms already interacting with IDB initiatives or platforms, reflecting a segment that is relatively more formalized than the overall agrifood sector, with greater familiarity with available support instruments and a stronger export orientation. About 63% of respondents reported engaging in international trade, a higher proportion than expected in the general population of agrifood companies.

As a result, this is not a statistically representative survey of the universe of agrifood companies in the region and the results we will discuss in the next paragraphs should be interpreted as signals regarding priorities, gaps, and challenges for this profile of firms, rather than as a representative snapshot of the sector as a whole.

Sixty-six percent of the surveyed companies self-identified as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and reported activities spanning primary production, agribusiness, and related services. Responses were received from 23 countries across the region, with Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, and Ecuador the most represented.

The survey results highlight several relevant patterns that are slowing down their growth potential:

• International trade and persistent frictions. Among companies engaged in international trade, high logistics and transportation costs emerge as the main obstacle (65%), followed by certification requirements (52%), which particularly affect SMEs. 
• High demand for training and capacity building. Companies express strong interest in strengthening capabilities related to market access and international trade (67%), as well as access to financing and financial management (61%). There is also notable interest in training related to value addition (55%), technological innovation and digitalization, and certifications (51%). On the environment, firms show demand for training in sustainability (42%) and risk management (32%). Live webinars (72%) and self-paced courses (59%) are the preferred training formats. 
• Limited knowledge of public policies. Only 47% of companies report being aware of public policy instruments supporting the sector. Among those that are aware, usage is concentrated in training programs (49%), trade fairs or commercial platforms (40%), and technical assistance (32%). This suggests not only limited awareness of the full range of available tools, but also untapped potential. 
• High reliance on self-financing. Eighty-three percent of companies finance their investments primarily with their own resources. The formal financial sector is used by 43% of firms, while supplier financing reaches 21%. In this context, companies identify access to financing as the top public policy priority (76%), followed by support for commercialization and access to international markets (69%). 

These results are largely consistent with the findings of the recent IDB flagship report Agricultural Productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean: What We Know and Where We Are Heading and provide complementary evidence from the direct perspective of the agrifood productive sector.

In particular, identifying high logistics costs and financing constraints as the main obstacles to business performance is consistent with the report’s evidence, which shows that the recent slowdown in agricultural productivity is associated more with limitations in the adoption of innovation than with a lack of available technologies.

Likewise, the strong demand for training in market access, financial management, innovation, and sustainability reinforces the diagnosis of persistent gaps in human capital, managerial capabilities, and advisory services, factors that the report identifies as key determinants of low growth in technical efficiency in the region. 

Limited awareness of public policy instruments suggests a gap between policy supply and firm uptake, underscoring the need to strengthen the effectiveness and coverage of agricultural policies, especially support for general services, such as extension, technical assistance, and infrastructure, alongside non-distortive direct support measures aimed at boosting productivity and sustainability.

Overall, the survey reinforces the report’s findings by showing that many of the constraints limiting productivity growth are directly perceived by companies and appear to be influencing concrete decisions related to investment, technology adoption, and market integration.
 

These results underscore the value of an integrated IDB agenda on public policies, agricultural productivity, and international integration. Beyond technical and financial support for governments and the private sector, knowledge, analysis, and interaction platforms enable more direct dialogue between the Bank and agrifood stakeholders.

In this regard, ConnectAmericas strengthens business capabilities and market access; Integra provides a strategic perspective on international markets; and Agrimonitor reflects the incentives created by public policies for private companies, within a comparative framework of agricultural policy, trade policy, and sustainability analysis.

Together, these tools provide a concrete foundation for strengthening dialogue between the agrifood private sector and public policy stakeholders, and for guiding an integrated agenda that fosters more productive, competitive, integrated, and sustainable agrifood systems across the region.